She rose from her chair swiftly, and looked at the green and silver club
chair, and the black plait that draped itself over the back of it. She
smiled to herself, as she spoke. "Goodnight-Severus." She said, trying the
name on her lips, and before she could gage his reaction, she was out the
door and into the cold London night. She looked around, trying to figure
out exactly where in the large city she was. She knew that she wasn't
exactly in a nice part of town, and she looked around. She knew that they
weren't that far from her flat, and she headed in the direction that she
thought her house was.
She walked hurriedly, eager to be out of and away from the dark dirty alleyways that she knew held part of the city's more unpleasant population. She was absorbed in her thoughts as she walked, thinking about the conversation that they had just had, and what had possessed her to call him by his first name. She had requested that he use her first name if only because she felt like a trembling first year, afraid of the big bad greasy git of their potions professor when he called her "Miss Granger."
But why did she do the same for him? Somewhere over the course of the night, he had changed from "Snape" to "Severus" and she wanted to know just where. Somewhere over the course of the night he had evolved from the evil potions master to be feared and hated to a man, a human, someone who had been pushed to the limit too many times, and finally didn't care what happened to him anymore. He was a man that had out rightly admitted to her that he didn't like to kill, but that he saw it as their only option.
And she knew it was, she knew that the muggle government was slowly but surely stopping the wizarding world from even really existing. And not just in the British Isles, but throughout the world. What had started as an English problem had slowly but surely spread. First to continental Europe, where wizards found themselves under close watch when not in their schools, and as such, many of the wizards on the continent had made Beauxbatons and Durmstrang their permanent residences.
She was unsure just how far this idea had spread, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she knew that if their cause didn't do something soon there would be no wizarding community left. Their cause, she mused. She was part of it now, she had walked through those doors and not looked back, and she knew that she had made the right choice. He had given her a way out, he told her that he wouldn't think any less of her if she chose to leave, if she didn't want to subject herself to the horrors that she would undoubtedly face.
She had seen plenty of horrors during the war. She had seen one of her best friends stricken down by the Dark Lord, at the same moment that he had defeated one of the evilest, most vile men to walk the planet. She had seen her other best friend lynched. She had seen one of her greatest idols make a martyr of himself, to give Harry that final edge in which to defeat Voldemort. But not once had she participated in the bloodshed.
Of course, she had dueled, she had gotten off more than one well placed curse or hex, but never once did she have to mutter the six syllables that every wizard feared. Two words, six syllables, something that she hoped she never would have to say ever. She thought about the words, and found them to roll easily off of her tongue, much more easily than she had ever though possible. She felt the raw magic flow through her, pent up from years of negligence.
In her giddy happiness about discovering just how much magical potential she had, and her retreat into her own mind, even as heightened as her senses were, being in such a shady area, she failed to notice the young man in the shadows, in a dark black suit, a small pad of paper in hand.
END OF CHAPTER 10
Well here's another chappy. Killed two birds this one did. Introduced the mysterious figure in the shadows, and Hermione realizing that Snape-no wait, it's Severus now- isn't all bad. Big props to Shini who's reviewed all of this so far, and even pointed out my typo in the authors notes of the last chapter, as well as SiriusRulz14 who's been kind enough to review, it means a lot to me that you guys are loving this so far!
She walked hurriedly, eager to be out of and away from the dark dirty alleyways that she knew held part of the city's more unpleasant population. She was absorbed in her thoughts as she walked, thinking about the conversation that they had just had, and what had possessed her to call him by his first name. She had requested that he use her first name if only because she felt like a trembling first year, afraid of the big bad greasy git of their potions professor when he called her "Miss Granger."
But why did she do the same for him? Somewhere over the course of the night, he had changed from "Snape" to "Severus" and she wanted to know just where. Somewhere over the course of the night he had evolved from the evil potions master to be feared and hated to a man, a human, someone who had been pushed to the limit too many times, and finally didn't care what happened to him anymore. He was a man that had out rightly admitted to her that he didn't like to kill, but that he saw it as their only option.
And she knew it was, she knew that the muggle government was slowly but surely stopping the wizarding world from even really existing. And not just in the British Isles, but throughout the world. What had started as an English problem had slowly but surely spread. First to continental Europe, where wizards found themselves under close watch when not in their schools, and as such, many of the wizards on the continent had made Beauxbatons and Durmstrang their permanent residences.
She was unsure just how far this idea had spread, and she wasn't sure that she wanted to know, but she knew that if their cause didn't do something soon there would be no wizarding community left. Their cause, she mused. She was part of it now, she had walked through those doors and not looked back, and she knew that she had made the right choice. He had given her a way out, he told her that he wouldn't think any less of her if she chose to leave, if she didn't want to subject herself to the horrors that she would undoubtedly face.
She had seen plenty of horrors during the war. She had seen one of her best friends stricken down by the Dark Lord, at the same moment that he had defeated one of the evilest, most vile men to walk the planet. She had seen her other best friend lynched. She had seen one of her greatest idols make a martyr of himself, to give Harry that final edge in which to defeat Voldemort. But not once had she participated in the bloodshed.
Of course, she had dueled, she had gotten off more than one well placed curse or hex, but never once did she have to mutter the six syllables that every wizard feared. Two words, six syllables, something that she hoped she never would have to say ever. She thought about the words, and found them to roll easily off of her tongue, much more easily than she had ever though possible. She felt the raw magic flow through her, pent up from years of negligence.
In her giddy happiness about discovering just how much magical potential she had, and her retreat into her own mind, even as heightened as her senses were, being in such a shady area, she failed to notice the young man in the shadows, in a dark black suit, a small pad of paper in hand.
END OF CHAPTER 10
Well here's another chappy. Killed two birds this one did. Introduced the mysterious figure in the shadows, and Hermione realizing that Snape-no wait, it's Severus now- isn't all bad. Big props to Shini who's reviewed all of this so far, and even pointed out my typo in the authors notes of the last chapter, as well as SiriusRulz14 who's been kind enough to review, it means a lot to me that you guys are loving this so far!